The Characters

The cast of The Seventh World Trilogy is large. This page lists the three key characters for each book first, followed by an alphabetical listing of the other cast members. (This page is still being updated.)

Maggie Sheffield
Chapter 1 of Worlds Unseen opens with Maggie, and even though it follows the paths of many other characters, the Trilogy remains her story in a special way. Maggie grew up an orphan in Bryllan, living in the loveless, tyrannical Orphan House until she was adopted by Eva Cook. Time spent with John and Mary (Grant) Davies shaped Maggie’s tender spirit and desire to know the truth behind appearances. Throughout the story, Maggie grows in understanding and in courage, discovering along the way that she is the Singer, one of the Gifted whose purpose is to bring the King back into the world. (Worlds Unseen is primarily Maggie’s story.)

Nicolas Fisher
Nicolas Fisher enters the Seventh World Trilogy in Worlds Unseen when he rescues Maggie from seedy characters near the docks of Galce. Accompanied by his animal companion, Bear, Nicolas is a half-Gypsy who doesn’t feel that he belongs anywhere. Abandoned by his father, the child Nicolas was saved from life in the orphan houses by a band of Gypsies that took him in when his mother died. But his strange gift of hearing and his restless spirit drove him out from them too. Nicolas is truly a free spirit, courageous and clever, but afraid of loving too much or committing himself to anyone. As the trilogy progresses, Nicolas finds that his destiny is tied up with Maggie’s and that he must settle his wandering heart in the song of the King if he is to find his place in the world and save those he is learning to love from destruction. (Burning Light is primarily Nicolas’s story.)

Virginia Ramsey
Virginia Ramsey, the blind seer of the Highlands, has seen visions since childhood. When we meet her in Worlds Unseen, her ability to see into the hearts of others has made an outcast from her village, and she is haunted by a vision of a great death hound hunting her down. Virginia is the first of the Gifted to be recognized by the Order of the Spider, so they are determined to capture her and use her power for themselves. But Virginia is also the first to see the King and commit to following Him. He tells her that through her he will wake the world, and Virginia struggles to hang onto that promise as she fights those who hunt her and becomes a leader in the new world of Pravik. (Coming Day is primarily Virginia’s story.)

Other Characters, in Alphabetical Order (Characters Are Listed by First, Not Last, Name)

Caasi, Son of the MajestyCaasi is a passionate, hot-headed prince who, like his brother Harutek, wants to see his people enter a new day. Unlike Harutek, Caasi has embraced the priesthood’s teachings wholeheartedly and eagerly looks forward to the coming of the King. Raised like all princes by the priesthood, Caasi fell in love with the young priestess Rehtse, who shares his devotion to the King. In Burning Light, Caasi is instrumental in moving his people to join with the Ploughman.

Christopher Enns
Christopher Enns enters the story in Burning Light as the companion of the Nameless One, a young man who is one of the Order of the Spider and helps Skraetock and the Nameless One in their work of hunting down the Gifted. But Christopher’s heart is not completely lost to the Blackness. Moved by the plight of Miracle, Christopher begins to soften, and on more than one occasion he helps Michael and Miracle instead of opposing them. The question is, can his slight change of heart save him, or is it too late for Christopher to return to the light?

The Clann O’Roarke Tucked away in a valley in the Green Isle, the Clann O’Roarke lived peacefully — until the day their clann chief, Thomas O’Roarke, came to the attention of the Order of the Spider. An unusually gifted man, Thomas’s abilities and encounters with the King made him a target. When Adhemar Skraetock, head of the Order, failed to convince Thomas to join them, the Order slaughtered Thomas and his generation instead. Thomas’s son Michael took up the clann leadership and devoted himself to protecting his sister and younger cousins from destruction. When we meet them in Burning Light, the clann members are a fiercely loyal, loving family who will do anything for one another — and for Miracle, when she comes to join them. There are twelve members of the Clann O’Roarke: Michael and his sister Shannon, Stephen (“Stocky”), Jack, Archer, Kieran, Seamus, Moll, Lilac, Jenna, Cali, and Grandmother.

The Earth Brethren
Gwyrion, Lord of the Wild Things. Tynretyllith, Forest Lord. Llycharath, Spirit of the Wind. The River-Daughter and the Sea-Father. Powerful spirit beings who rule over different areas of the earth, the Earth Brethren are beautiful, ancient, and entirely loyal to the King. In the Great War, they were defeated and banished to sleep. In Worlds Unseen, the Earth Brethren are awakened by Virginia Ramsey to play an important role in the battle for truth once again.

Eva Cook
As Eva Brown, this cheerful woman of unexpected depth was an unlikely member of the Council for Exploration Into Worlds Unseen. Years later, after the break-up of the Council and the death of her husband, Eva took in two orphans girls, Patricia Black and Maggie Sheffield, and determined to raise them without any exposure to the dangerous secrets the Council once meddled in. But Eva is never able to entirely forget the beauty she once glimpsed beyond the Veil, and when she is called upon to reenter the battle for the Seventh World by following Maggie and joining the rebels in Pravik, she does it with good humour, good cooking, and warm love that helps all who receive it to conquer.

Evelyn
Evelyn is a beautiful, powerful, and mysterious woman, responsible for the destruction of the Council for Exploration Into Worlds Unseen, for the murder of several of its members, and for many other crimes she has buried in obscurity. Long ago, Evelyn was a simple village girl from Galce, but she allowed hatred and jealousy to twist her heart, and she began to seek dark powers in the world beyond the Veil. Eventually she determined to join the Order of the Spider, and she chased down clues about the Order until she finally tracked down Adhemar Skraetock and convinced him to initiate her. Now possessing the power of the Blackness, Evelyn is one of the greatest threats to the heroes of the Seventh World in Worlds Unseen–though the extent of her treachery and malice are not seen until Coming Day.

Harutek, Son of the MajestyA denizon of the Darkworld, Harutek is a prince — the Seventeenth Son of the Majesty, Nahtano. Harutek is a visionary who is far more ready than his father to join forces with the Ploughman, even joining with him to rescue the Gypsies from slaughter in Athrom. He realizes that his people must come out of darkness, and he is eager to see a new age dawn for them. Courtly and courageous, Harutek was raised by the priesthood but nevertheless struggles to accept their ancient teachings about the King. Introduced in Burning Light, Harutek plays a more significant role in Coming Day.

Kieran O’Roarke
Of all the members of the Clann O’Roarke, eleven-year-old Kieran plays a special role in the drama of the Seventh World. When the Order of the Spider reenters the clann’s lives in Burning Light, Kieran feels the pull of their power most strongly — but he also fears it more than any other. His fear causes him to run the only way he knows how, into the shelter of a most unexpected guardian. His fate is revealed in Coming Day.

Kris of the Mountains
Kris of the Mountains enters the story in Burning Light, where he helps Michael O’Roarke in the battle to find and free Miracle. Kris was an old friend of Michael’s father, Thomas O’Roarke. He is a faithful old warrior and the best friend Michael and Miracle could hope for in the fight against evil.

Jarin Huss
When we meet Jarin Huss in Worlds Unseen, he is an elderly scholar and the sole teacher of the secret university in Pravik, where the truth about history and the Veil is taught. Huss was once a member of the Council for Exploration Into Worlds Unseen, and his experiences and scholarly expertise make him wiser about the events in the world than any other. It is to him that Maggie attempts to carry the scroll in Worlds Unseen, and it is Huss who sends Virginia away to seek the King in Coming Day. Huss becomes a mentor and father-figure to Maggie, Virginia, the Ploughman, and others who seek the truth and desire to shake off the rule of the empire. Without his knowledge and his urgent call for others to seek out and reveal the truth, the events in the trilogy might have turned out very differently.

Libuse
Libuse is a descendant of the ancient royal line of the Eastern Lands, a family who once ruled from Pravik and are now recognized by the empire in a purely ceremonial way. Libuse serves on the ruling council of the Eastern Lands, trying her best to temper the rule of Antonin Zarras as one of his advisors even as she secretly supports the Ploughman’s rebellion behind his back. In Worlds Unseen, Libuse’s actions bring unintended consequences, and she becomes a princess in more than name only as she steps into the role of a leader in the rebellion and the free world that rebellion wishes to create.

Lord Robert Sinclair
Lord Robert Sinclair is a passionate visionary who has long dreamed of discovering the powers that lie beyond the world he sees. As a young man, he founded the Council for Exploration Into Worlds Unseen and led its members in seeking out truth, power, and the beauty and terror beyond the Veil. But he fell in love with Evelyn, and when the Council wanted to cast her out, he took her side. When she left him not long after, he became a haunted soul, a man grieving his loss and unable to find his way back. When he learns that Virginia Ramsey, who lives on his land, has a supernatural gift of sight, he hopes that she will be able to show him the way to what he has always sought. He rescues Virginia from the High Police and serves as her protector as they cross the continent in Worlds Unseen. But Lord Robert’s loyalties are divided, and his passion drives him to decisions that will not be resolved till the climactic events of Coming Day.

Lucas BarringtonOne of the original members of the Council for Exploration Into Worlds Unseen, Lucas was an adventurous rogue. After fathering a child in Galce, he took to sea, where he encountered the forces of the Blackness on a distant island. He led a rebellion against them but was poisoned in the end. In Burning Light, Lucas comes face-to-face with the son he abandoned — and his last hope for redemption.

The Major
The Major is a Gypsy leader, nicknamed because of a short stint in the High Police — something very few Gypsies ever do! He is a big, brawny, bearded man with a heart of gold, the courage to battle anything, and a fierce commitment to protecting his people. For many years he has been the closest thing to a father-figure that Nicolas Fisher has ever had, and when we first meet him in Worlds Unseen, it is as he shelters Nicolas and Maggie on their journey to Pravik. When the Gypsies come under terrible persecution in Burning Light, the Major takes up arms against the Empire and the Blackness and becomes an important ally to Pravik and a savior to more than one Gypsy who would otherwise be lost.

Marja
Marja, a beautiful young Gypsy woman, is only seventeen when she tells her campfire story in Worlds Unseen, captivating Nicolas and giving Maggie her first real glimpse of the ancient legends that point to the King. A member of the Major’s band of Gypsies, Marja comes from a clan that recognizes birds as their special kinfolk. She is fierce, often vengeful, and superstitious, but she is also ferociously loyal, loving, and brave, and in Burning Light, she joins Nicolas in his fight to free the Gypsies — and becomes more important to him than he could have imagined.

Michael O’RoarkeBurning Light opens the story of Michael O’Roarke, the leader of a beleagured clann from the Green Isle, as he sails north in search of a safe place for his clann to hide from the Order of the Spider, who killed the older generation and are now hunting the survivors. But Michael’s journey north has unexpected consequences: unable to find the hiding place he hoped for, he instead finds Miracle, a beautiful and mysterious Northerner who heals him from what should have been a mortal injury. Only moments later, Miracle is taken captive by the Order, and in his attempts to save her, Michael finds himself playing an important role in the resistance against the Order, the Blackness, and every force of evil in his world.

Miracle
Miracle is the Healer of the Gifted prophecy, a strikingly beautiful, gentle young woman who lives in the mountains of the North. Miracle lost her parents to an accident high in the winter mountains as a very young girl, and she was raised by a kind old man who died of age and cold when she was thirteen. After that, she survived on her own, with the help of the animals she befriended, her skills at growing things even through the winter snow, and the oversight of Kris of the Mountains. She lived in a cottage in the mountains, staying out of the villages except when she could be a help to the people there. The old man who raised her knew about the King and taught Miracle that her gifts came from him. She believed this, and even as a young girl she never exercised her gift of healing without bowing her head and asking the King to work through her. When we first meet Miracle in Burning Light, she comes to the aid of an injured Michael O’Roarke — but she has already been targeted by more than one evil force, and she is taken captive by the Nameless One. Miracle must use all of her courage and faith as she stands against the Nameless One, waits for rescue, and eventually plays an even greater role in healing the Seventh World.

The Nameless One
The Nameless One had a name once, but few remember it. A native of the Northern Lands, he is the physical son of Narald Black-Brow, the Overlord of the Northern Lands. If he is anyone’s spiritual son, he is the son of Morning Star himself — the source of the Blackness and the ancient betrayer of the King. As a boy, the Nameless One was so drawn to evil that he quickly came to the notice of Adhemar Skraetock. He joined the Order of the Spider when he was only twelve, but even the Order could not satiate his hunger for the Blackness. The Nameless One eventually traded everything he had, even his own name, for murderous power. Eventually, the Nameless One takes an interest in the Gifted, especially in the beautiful Miracle, who he wishes to use to access more power and destroy any hope of the King returning. Though he does not enter the trilogy until Burning Light, the Nameless One is central to the battle for the Seventh World, as his unswerving devotion to the Blackness makes him the greatest threat our heroes have ever known.

Patricia Black
Pat is Eva Cook’s first foster daughter and Maggie Sheffield’s best friend. Bold, brave, and tomboyish, Pat spent some time getting involved with dissenters in Cryneth and stirring up trouble for the overseer of Bryllan before returning to Mrs. Cook’s home in Worlds Unseen–just in time to meet with a fugitive Lord Robert and his charge, Virginia Ramsey. Knowing she’s in trouble with the police either way, Pat decides to accompany the fugitives across the sea to the continent and go looking for Maggie. Pat’s courage and fierce loyalty quickly turn her from a troublemaker into a true warrior, and she gladly takes her part in the Seventh World’s fight for freedom.

Peter the Pipe-Smoker
Cousin to Marja, friend to Nicolas, and member of the Major’s band, Peter the Pipe-Smoker is a young, quiet Gypsy who never does anything to call attention to himself, but is an essential part of the lives of all who know him. He joins the freedom fighters in Burning Light and saves the lives of Nicolas and Marja in Coming Day, proving that no matter how great a hero or heroine may be, the quiet faithfulness of friendship saves more worlds than most people know!

The Ploughman
The Ploughman was a son of a landholder in the Eastern Lands and one of several brothers. When his father died and his older brother was taken away by the High Police, he became the leader in his family, struggling to keep them all alive. The tenant farmers on his land grew to love him for his just ways and the love he showed them. He tried to cooperate with the ruling powers, but as oppression in the Eastern Lands grew worse, the Ploughman began to rebel. His tenant farmers took up arms and joined him as a rag-tag militia, and together they attacked and robbed High Police supply trains and made as much trouble as possible for the tyrannical overseer of the Eastern Lands, Antonin Zarras. Identifying strongly with the farmers and wishing to detach his family name from his actions as a robber, he adopted the name “the Ploughman” around this time. His actions brought him to the attention of Libuse, a princess in Pravik, and as both worked to lessen the plight of their oppressed people, they fell in love and pledged to one day marry. But the Ploughman has a secret, a source of power that comes from beyond him and enables him to stand against not only Zarras and the High Police, but the Blackness itself. Throughout the events of Worlds Unseen, Burning Light, and Coming Day, these powers make the Ploughman the primary leader of the free world and stretch his integrity and strength to the limit.

Rehtse of the DarkworldOne of the youngest members of the Darkworld priesthood, Rehtse is devoted — almost recklessly — to the King. She believes entirely in the history of the world as taught by the priesthood, and her relationship with the Majesty’s youngest son, Caasi, helped shape her commitment to helping the Darkworld walk in faithfulness to the King. But Rehtse’s sincere devotion puts her at odds with the Majesty and Harutek, who see her actions as treasonous. In Coming Day, Rehtse joins Virginia to seek out the King for the sake of both their peoples.

Roland MacTavish Roland first enters the story of the Seventh World in Worlds Unseen, where he learns of the High Police’s search for Virginia Ramsey and runs several miles to warn Lord Robert Sinclair so that he can help her — a courageous act with far-reaching consequences! As a child, Roland was one of the only friends Virginia had, and she told him that in him she saw a lion cub, waiting to grow into a great lion. But Roland does not really take his position in the story until Coming Day, when he befriends and cares for a little homeless boy cast out by the villagers. Stubborn and resourceful, Roland promises the child, who he calls Stray, that he will stick with him no matter how much the rest of the world turns its back. He has no idea what that will mean, however, and Roland’s self-appointed guardianship leads him into the adventure he has always been waiting for.

Stray
Stray comes down out of the Highland mountains in Coming Day, a small child who is unnervingly odd, fascinated with the world, and firmly attached to Roland, whom he promptly adopts as guardian. The villagers of Angslie reject Stray as they did Virginia, and Roland takes him into the hills to care for him. But Stray has a purpose all his own in the Seventh World.

Undred the Undecided
Undred the Undecided is one of the oldest creatures in the Seventh World. A spirit-being from the ancient world, he can take more than one form. His initial appearance in Burning Light is as a man, but his identity is slowly revealed as Undred’s age-old battle begins to affect others: he is the only creature who would not take sides in the Great War, and his indecision has been slowly twisting him for five hundred years.

Wee Cameron the BlacksmithWee Cameron the Blacksmith is an inhabitant of Virginia’s home village of Angslie. A strong man with a heart for justice, Cam befriends Virginia, Roland, Stray, and other outcasts for the sake of doing what is right.